Accountants want flexibility when considering a new job, survey shows

Research from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and Global Accounting Network has found that over half of qualified accountants are motivated by flexibility when taking a new job role into consideration.

The CIMA 2016 salary insights report surveyed over 3,400 of CIMA’s student accountant members and over 4,400 qualified accountant members and found that 55 per cent of qualified accountants would like a new job that offers flexibility and a better work-life balance, up from 37 per cent in 2015.

The report also found that 52 per cent of qualified accountants are influenced by financial reward when seeking a new job.

Differ

The report showed that the main motivators for qualified accountants and student accountants differ when it comes to considering a new job role.

Qualified accountants were found to be influenced by a good working environment, cited by 42 per cent, whilst the main motivation for student accountants when searching for a new job role is financial reward, cited by over 50 per cent.

Over 35 per cent of student accountants said that they would be influenced by a job that offers a good working environment.

Valuable

Commenting on the report, Global Accounting Network Founding Partner Adrian O’Connor said: “It is to be expected that motivators differ between the student accountant and the qualified accountant demographics.”

He added: “Flexible working is arguably more valuable for professionals later in their careers when they are more likely to have caring responsibilities or are just looking to slow the pace. Students, on the other hand, are right to seek out opportunities for development and challenging work to help build their skills and experience for the future.”

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